Bringing call drop issue back to the limelight, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has announced that he will meet the CEOs of the telecom companies on November 1. The meeting will check the progress of solutions implemented by the companies to address call drop, as well as carve out a road map for the future. This may include the plans to expand the necessary infrastructure.

According to the Minister, there is a progress recorded in the call drop situation. “There were 54 networks, which were not performing up to the standard in December 2015, and now it is down to only 19,” telecom secretary J.S. Deepak said reports The Telegraph.

After the previous meeting held in June, the telecom operators had committed an investment of Rs. 12,000 crore to set up 60,000 base stations. They also proposed to automate 1.5 lakhs towers. They presented a 100-day plan for improving the service quality. The meeting on November 1 will review this plan.

In return, the Centre promised that it would urge the local authorities and resident welfare associations to permit the installation of towers in locations where there is a public opposition towards installing the towers. The TRAI too came up with the study that says that the radiation emitted by the mobile towers is not proved to be a health hazard.

Meantime, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) suggested the service providers compensate the subscribers for dropped calls. However, the companies opposed it in the Supreme Court, and the department could not take it forward. The regulator has also sought the public opinion to address the issue via a consultation paper. In the consultation paper, it proposed an ombudsman for the telecom sector, which can be utilized to bring speedy resolutions to the complaints of the subscribers.

The Telecom Minister being in New Delhi meeting AVOID Group over call drop is OK, but what has he done to ensure that MTNL Delhi is maintaining the Call Drop Bench Mark of TRAI. To reduce radiation from towers they have reduced signals from towers because of which inside rooms call drops are still happening since June 2016 & in same room in one side near window full signal another side no 2G signal for even SMS. What does the Telecom Ministier Plan to do for this & by when ? MTNL Delhi is parroting the same that once expansion… Read more »